Chapter 171

Beyond the dread in his heart, he forced his head up and looked ahead.

The next instant, the sight that met his eyes made his pupils contract and his heart flood with horror!

He saw a youth in a blue robe, his features resolute, who at some unknown moment had appeared right before his eyes.

He held a sword in his right hand, the blade perfectly still, its sharp tip leveled at him!

The sword tip hovered less than three finger-widths from his forehead, and he could already faintly feel a chill that froze the heart through.

At this moment, under Pei Bu's terrified gaze, Jiang Chen's face was cold and proud as he said softly, "You've lost."

No need for three swords—just one, and the higher and the lower were decided at once!

"I... lost?"

Pei Bu muttered, unable to believe it.

He truly could not accept that after more than ten years of sword practice, he had been so easily defeated by this brat before him!

Just as Pei Bu was gradually beginning to doubt his very existence.

Seeing the victor decided so quickly, the Jiang clan members around them instantly could not hold back their laughter.

"So this is what someone from Dahe Jiangong is like? Big reputation—I thought you'd be something impressive, but who would've thought you're nothing but a pewter spearhead!"

"Just now you were strutting around like some big bad wolf, and now you can't even take two strikes from Brother Chen. Just who gave you the nerve to yap like a mad dog?!"

"That's right! I've never seen such a shameless person in my life! Not much strength, but plenty of mouth!"

Laughter rang out on all sides.

At this moment, Pei Shan, seeing this scene, widened her eyes, her red lips slightly parted, her face full of disbelief.

She could never have dreamed that not only had she herself been defeated by a member of the Jiang clan, but even her dear elder brother had suffered the same fate!

After the shock passed, deep within her heart an enormous doubt could not help but arise.

For the Jiang clan to possess two heaven-chosen prodigies with such terrifying combat power—could they truly be just some small clan?

Not far away.

Pei Qingfeng raised a brow and could not help casting Jiang Chen a few glances, his eyes full of astonishment.

Because he had earlier detected that Jiang Yan possessed a spirit body, he had not been too surprised by Pei Shan's defeat.

But Pei Bu's defeat was truly somewhat unexpected.

After all, no matter how one looked at Jiang Chen, he was utterly ordinary—apart from his Purple Mansion realm cultivation base being worth noting, there was not a single redeeming feature about him; he was absolutely no match for Pei Bu.

So why was the final result that the other party, with a single sword, had defeated Pei Bu—the strongest true disciple of Dahe Jiangong, the one who had been expected to inherit his mantle?

Just as Pei Qingfeng was deeply puzzled.

On the other side.

Hearing the mocking voices of the Jiang clan members all around, Pei Bu, the one at the center of it all, instantly flared up in fury!

Those voices stabbed into his heart like steel blades and twisted viciously, causing him unbearable agony!

His face twisted savagely, and deep within his eyes a baleful glint flickered!

The pride buried in his heart absolutely would not allow him to accept defeat like this!

Thinking of this, he clenched his jaw, his right hand suddenly exerting force, preparing to pull the long sword that was embedded in the ground, intending to launch another attack!

Yet every one of these small movements was laid bare beneath Jiang Chen's terrifying dynamic vision!

The instant Pei Bu wrenched the long sword free, Jiang Chen's three-foot azure blade in the next moment came whistling over, incomparably fast, its heavy spine viciously striking the right palm with which Pei Bu gripped his sword.

Smack!

A crisp ring rang out.

Pei Bu could not help letting out a wail of agony; his right palm, unable to endure the pain, could not grip the hilt, and the long sword he had just drawn instantly clattered to the ground!

Jiang Chen casually kicked the long sword away, then looked down from above at Pei Bu beneath him and said coldly, "You're defeated."

Pei Bu's forehead bulged with veins, his whole body drenched in sweat.

He clamped his left hand tightly over his aching, swollen right palm, slowly raised his head, fixed Jiang Chen with an utterly gloomy stare, and said through gritted teeth, "Defeated? How could I possibly lose to you, you little brat? Keep on dreaming!!"

Seeing Pei Bu's eyes brimming with tears from the pain, yet still stubbornly talking tough.

Jiang Chen's brow furrowed, and he was just about to kick out and teach the other a lesson.

But just then, a low, weathered voice suddenly rang out from not far away.

"Enough—stop making a fool of yourself out here!"

The words fell, and Jiang Chen's motion paused.

Pei Bu, meanwhile, wore a face full of dejection as he looked toward his own adoptive father.

Under his gaze, Pei Qingfeng gave a cold snort. "Get back here."

Pei Bu's body trembled; thinking of his adoptive father's severity, he was so frightened that he scrambled back on hands and knees, hurriedly hurrying over.

Pei Shan at the side also understood the gravity of the situation and dared not linger for even a moment, immediately following close behind.

Once the two bedraggled figures had returned to his side, Pei Qingfeng at last turned to look at Jiang Daoxuan beside him and said coldly, "Your Jiang clan truly is full of talent—you've given me quite an eye-opening experience. If I weren't certain this was your Jiang clan's territory, I'd almost be tempted to suspect this was the territory of some holy land..."

Jiang Daoxuan, having received the reward sent by the sparring mission, smiled noncommittally.

At this moment, Pei Qingfeng swept his gaze around, and his tone suddenly shifted.

"My Bu'er and Shan'er have lost—that is due to their own lack of strength. I, Pei Qingfeng, am not someone who refuses to own up to it; let this matter count as a victory for your Jiang clan."

"This matter is settled. Now, I wish to take Gu Xingjian and these two juniors of your clan away and bestow upon them a stroke of fortune. Do you have any objection?"

The moment these words came out, the dagger was at last revealed!

Pei Bu and Pei Shan jerked their heads up, staring at their adoptive father in disbelief.

They had never imagined that their adoptive father would, at this very moment, take a liking to talent and wish to bring back to Dahe Jiangong the very two people who had cost them face.

The thought that, once these two youthful prodigies returned to Dahe Jiangong, they might threaten their own positions.

In their hearts, the two of them were a hundred times unwilling.

However, within Dahe Jiangong, every word spoken by his adoptive father was absolute authority—no one dared defy it!

Elsewhere.

Upon hearing this, Gu Xingjian's expression suddenly darkened.

Although he had long known that Pei Qingfeng had a fondness for talented individuals—so obsessive that he wanted to collect them like treasures.

He had not expected that, despite his adopted son and daughter having just been defeated by Jiang Yan and Jiang Chen moments ago, he would immediately try to recruit the two of them.

This was not a good sign.

Gu Xingjian's brows knit tightly, and a wave of worry rose within him.

He knew Pei Qingfeng's character all too well—once one accepted his recruitment, it was no different from selling oneself, and one could never leave Dahe Jiangong for life!

At that point, unless Jiang Yan and Jiang Chen progressed at a godlike pace and their cultivation base surpassed Pei Qingfeng's, they would have to obediently stay in Dahe Jiangong for the rest of their lives!

But how difficult was it to reach that point?

Was the Moon Wheel realm so easily attained?!

——————

PS: Because three chapters were written together before posting, the update is a bit late—sorry to have kept everyone waiting!

Also, Mao9 would like to say a few words here. (This aside doesn't count toward the word count—this chapter has 2,700 words!)

First, since this is Mao9's first time writing a clan/family story, it's still in the experimental stage, and a lot of the plotting style is still being figured out. On top of that, Mao9 is planning to write a million-word epic, so sometimes the plot pacing will be a bit slow to avoid the story collapsing from being rushed.

In short, tackling a genre I haven't written before—Mao9's heart is full of anxiety.

If there are any flaws, please dear readers be magnanimous in your forgiveness; Mao9 is endlessly grateful here (kneeling)!

Next, the tone of this book is ensemble cast + clan/family.

So the protagonist can't be the only one out there showing off—otherwise it'd be no different from any other xuanhuan where one person stands alone at the top.

Once the clan members gradually grow, they'll each have their own unique development arcs.

The protagonist's role is to suppress everything, becoming the sturdiest wall behind every clan member.

In the future, beyond the Heaven-Destined clan members, I'll also consider designing some other clan member templates.

Once the plot gets on track, I'll gather everyone's input on this and create reader-designed clan member templates!

Also, considering it's a clan after all, a gender imbalance wouldn't be ideal.

So in the later stages, some female Heaven-Destined members and clan members will appear one after another.

Of course, there won't be any nauseating characters like naive sweethearts, nor any romance-brained types—no cringeworthy, terrible romance plots—to avoid making dear readers uncomfortable!

In Mao9's book, regardless of gender, the main goals are making the clan stronger and making oneself stronger; this is the throughline of the entire work!

Finally, the fact that this book managed to squeeze into 14th place on the New Book Rankings is all thanks to everyone's contributions—thank you all again (kneeling)!

Oh right, I won't beg for gifts—I'll just weakly ask for a "please update"......

Wishing everyone a happy life!